Minuteman High automotive program gets tune up

The students and instructors in Minuteman High School’s automotive technology program are as comfortable using a computer as they are wielding a wrench.

Hannah McGoldrick/hmcgoldrick@wickedlocal.com

Don’t call them grease monkeys.

The students and instructors in Minuteman High School’s automotive technology program are as comfortable using a computer as they are wielding a wrench.

Bruce Flood, who has been an automotive instructor at Minuteman for 14 years, has seen firsthand the drastic changes in technology since he was in trade school.

“It goes from the days where you could fix something by tapping it, hammering it or turning a screw,” he said, as compared to today’s cars, which he called “computers on wheels.”

Although technological advances have changed the program, Flood said it’s still important for students to have a complete understanding of basic mechanic skills.

“Even though we come into new technology, we still need to rely on the old technology,” he said. “Our job right now is to make sure they have the basics, but also show them what is coming down the road.”

The program also aims to teach students employability skills.

“We need to teach them how to be good employees and job skills,” said Donald Melanson, an automotive instructor at Minuteman for 18 years. “Going forward that’s one of our top focuses.”

Flood said the automotive industry is continuing to evolve, requiring students to further their studies beyond high school.

“One of the things I tell my students is you’re going to continue to go to class until the day you decide to put your toolbox away,” he said. “I can’t tell you how many things have changed in the last five years in automotive.”

Partnership with UTI

In an effort to improve on the automotive curriculum and encourage students to further their education, Minuteman has partnered with the Universal Technical Institute, a post-secondary automotive and technical training program in Norwood. UTI provides guidance and allows Minuteman students to test out of specific courses they may have already mastered in high school.

Max Steiner, an admissions representative for UTI, said he is excited about the partnership with Minuteman because they produce highly skilled students.

“We know the passion is there. We know they’ve made a choice to continue their education,” he said. “In the end, what they provide to us are students who are passionate and professional.”

Minuteman Principal Ernie Houle said the partnership will help keep Minuteman’s curriculum up to date.

“We’re educating the whole child,” Houle said. “Minuteman’s goal is to get the student educated, well developed, be ready to go and succeed at advanced training like UTI or go to college, or just go out to work and be responsible and productive citizens in society.”

“It’s a dog-eat-dog world and those people with the best skills and the most knowledge will never be out of work,” he added.

Michelle Roche, director of career and technical education at Minuteman, said the partnership with UTI will also help Minuteman stay in tune with the needs of the automotive industry.

“We’ve met with them many times about some of what they’re teaching at UTI and how they’re preparing their students for the workforce,” she said.

Stigmas and stereotypes

Another part of the evolution of the automotive program at Minuteman is breaking down stereotypes. One way they are doing this is by emphasizing the automotive industry is now a high-tech field, no longer limited to grimy garage work.

Flood said he teaches his students to go into the automotive field with a technician’s mindset as opposed to a mechanic’s. He said the difference between a technician and a mechanic comes down to specialization and continuing technical education but still utilizing the basics.

“A technician does everything, road tests it, takes it apart, finds the problem, puts it back together, and the customer is satisfied,” Flood said.

Roche also said many people don’t realize automotive programs are an example of STEM education, a national initiative to teach students science, technology, engineering and math.

“I think that the connection is so clear but sometimes it gets lost when you want to try to break stereotypes and stigma,” Roche said.

Steiner agreed.

“Algebra is horsepower, geometry is alignment, and thermodynamics keeps things cold,” he said. “This is such a high-tech job. But the job has changed quicker than the perceptions of the job.”

Steiner said it’s important to change the way parents perceive technical schools and trades in general.

“It comes down to passion and it comes down to parents’ willingness to think outside the box,” he said.